Oh, man, remember Demiricous?  Their Metal Blade debut, One (Hellbound), fucked our faces off in 2006, and they released an equally crushing follow-up, Two (Poverty), just a year later. They had such a bright future! They were Kerry King’s favorite band! And then… well, they pretty much fell apart. Word around the campfire is they got completely fucked by some scumbag manager, and then they fell split with Metal Blade in 2008. In 2009 they announced that they were working on new material, but 2010 came and went with no news whatsoever from the band.

But there’s news now! According to Lambgoat, they’re releasing a four-song EP/demo this Thursday, March 10 (rad cover art above). And there’s already two new songs streaming on their Facebook page! Hoo-ray!

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You know how sometimes you will get completely obsessed with a band, and you’re all “ZOMG CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO THEM!!!”? That is how I am right now with THE ACACIA STRAIN — I probably listen to Wormwood at least three times a day, and when I’m not listening to it, I am singing it in my head.

It’s always awesome to get the chance to see a band when you are at the peak of being into them, so I was very stoked to check out the DEATHCORE ACROSS AMERICA tour when it rolled through my town the other day: I Declare War, Whitechapel, Veil of Maya and The Acacia Strain = YOU’RE FUCKING MOSHING! I also got a chance to chat with TAS bassist Jack Strong [mirin that name, sounds alpha as fuck].

In this post I will share the three reasons why TAS is my favorite band at the moment, as well as a few words from Jack to support my points: 1. Their diverse fanbase 2. They are punk 3. Last but not least, TAS are fucking heavy as fuck.

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I’m exaggerating, of course. Someone besides me will be happy to hear that Murderdolls (not The Murderdolls – get it right, dick!) are getting back together. But he or she probably doesn’t read this website.

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Guitarist Andrew Mikhail (who spoke with our own Oceano-loving fiend, Gary Suarez, back in October) has left Oceano. The guitarist revealed his departure in a series of Tweets, each more revealing than the last, starting 2 days ago:

“dawn of a new day” 6:52 PM Feb 1st from mobile web

decided it was time to get out of the water. 7:24 AM Feb 2nd from mobile web

for personal reasons, i left oceano yesterday. wanted to say thanks to everyone who has supported what i’ve done. see you soon, for sure. about 20 hours ago from web

The inevitable Lambgoat post followed as did a barrage of unusually non-offensive comments (one of which is my headline – thanks “the_smile_that_kills”!). The statement Mikhail released to Lambgoat is cryptic and doesn’t say much, but it seems — understandably so — that Mikhail was just tired of playing shitty deathcore.

We look forward to bashing Oceano’s forthcoming Zeuss-produced album when it comes out later this year. That sound you hear is Gary Suarez whimpering in the corner.

-VN

Thanks: Pete Arado.

By now, everyone knows how I feel about Oceano. Many of you read – and weighed in on – my five star/horn review of their debut Depths, stayed abreast of the controversy that ensued, and joyously celebrated my subsequent return (with interview in tow) to the MetalSucks fold. It should have come as no surprise that Depths claimed the #2 spot in my own Best of 2009 list. So you can imagine how I reacted when I learned, via Oceano’s MySpace blog, that they’re going back into the studio this year to record the follow-up to that record.

A year after completing the recording of their hugely successful 2009 debut, Depths, Chicago’s deathcore heavyweights, OCEANO are heading back into the studio to record their follow-up. Set for release later this year, the new album will tell a story that promises to open eyes and deliver a more mature experience than many might normally expect. “Expect us to go deeper than Depths this time around, and not just meaning heavier;” says vocalist, Adam Warren. “This is more than just our sophomore album. It is a great vision to be accomplished when all of the pieces we’ve worked so hard to create – art, music, lyrics and overall atmosphere – come together.”

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I was seriously worried about the fate of Demiricous, and with good reason, I’d say. The best band ever to sound exactly like Slayer that aren’t actually Slayer, the Hoosier quartet made two killer albums on Metal Blade (produced by Zeuss and ERIK FUCKING RUTAN, respectively) and were endorsed by no less a figure than Mr. Kerry King himself. But then they were, at least as I understand it, more or less completely ripped-off by their then-manager, and they finally parted ways with Metal Blade last year. No one could blame them if they broke up. Bands break up over much less these days.

But now Lambgoat is reporting that Demiricous is, in fact, alive and well, and will enter the studio in November to record a new five-song demo with Gates of Slumber drummer “Iron” Bob Fouts. They still don’t have a label and “will issue the material themselves.” That part confuses me a bit – I mean, I’m thrilled to get to hear new Demiricous music, but is it a demo to try and land them a new label, or is it a self-released EP…? Whatever. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

Here’s the band’s video for “Vagrant Idol.” Holy shit, this song is heavy.

-AR

I’m loving this new subgenre title Vince has coined - “Sumeriancore.” I love it because a) it instantly lets you know the band in question plays proggy tech deathcore, and b) if we’re gonna get silly with these subgenres names, let’s get really silly with them, right?

So, besides The Faceless, I guess my favorite Sumeriancore band (or, at least, my favorite Sumeriancore band that is actually on Sumerian) is Born of Osiris (whose debut, The New Reign, was actually produced The Faceless’ Michael Keene). Born of Osiris have the adorable nickname “BOO.” Just makes me wanna play with puppies every time I say it. “BOO!” Like the little girl in Monsters, Inc. Don’t ask how I know that. It’s definitely not because I use Pixar movies to lure small children back to the MetalSucks Mansion.

But I’m getting way off-topic here. Born of Osiris have posted a new song, “Now Arise,” on their MySpace page.

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